Good Morning

We had a quiet Sunday. Mark was recovering from two days of family socializing. I was recovering from life in my slow lane. A thought just came to me.....I come from a family that had hardly any contact with other family members. My mother's personality disorder drove everyone away, so it was us and my grandma. My three serious relationships, two of them marriages, were/is with men from large families. Mark, from a family of ten children, is the largest. And the unfriendly one. If I could have taken my first mother-in-law in the divorce, I would have! She was probably the best person I've ever known. Well, now, this was a divergence.

Carrying on. Although it was warm, there wasn't humidity. So I made bread. I don't know why, I really enjoy bread making. Probably memories of my grandma. I sat in the shade on the back porch with an audiobook for a couple of hours, no mosquitoes or flies. It was lovely. I did not let all of the things needing doing niggle at me, not at all. A perfect day.

Today is laundry, more hay delivery and lunch from the deli. The family gathering Mark attended Saturday was a seafood boil. One of his brothers likes to do this. There were a lot of shrimp leftover, some of which Mark brought home. I used half of it for dinner, the other half will be another dinner, probably tonight. It needs to be used. It's a good thing we like shrimp.

That's about it. 

 

More Food

The product of four cups of milk.

I've intended to make eggplant involtini for a couple of weeks and finally got to it yesterday. I thought I had ricotta but didn't, so I made some. Four cups of milk yields one-half cup of ricotta. I will use the whey to make bread. The sauce had too much moisture but was still good. Under all that sauce are small rolls of roasted eggplant stuffed with ricotta, some of those thyme leaves I spent to much time on and grated parm.

Three more days of weather in the 80s F and then a bit of a cool down. Mark had a good time with the male members (siblings and cousins) of his family yesterday at lunch. His brother from Florida made it out before the hurricane blasted through. His intention is to fly back on Sunday, if he can. The images I've seen are devastating. I don't know if his area was impacted, as I don't actually know where he lives in Florida. Wherever The Villages are. Yes, he lives there.

Today is unplanned, which could mean I may get something done. I often seem to buck my own plans. I need to be stubborn with someone, it may as well be myself.

Done and Dusted

A long time ago I was watching a Food Network program with a chef named Ann something. In the course of whatever she was talking about, well I guess fresh herbs, she said: I ain't got time for thyme. This was running on a loop through my brain as I stripped the tiny leaves from the stems. I also kept hearing a little voice telling me, hey brainy, you can buy this stuff. But it's fresh, I whined back.

The herbs are done. 

 

Herbs

Yesterday was quiet but productive. The afternoon was filled with herbs. I cut the basil plants, making five small jars of pesto and a partial ice cube tray of basil cubes. I had previously dried oregano, which I stripped from the stems. Two sage plants were cut down, one had the leaves put in the freezer. The other was put to hang and dry. Today will be thyme, tarragon and fennel fronds. The rosemary grows well in the house over winter, so it comes in. Signs of summer's end.

We are in the 80s F through Monday, then it cools to normal. Or what used to be considered normal. Being the delicate flower I am, I will occupy myself in the house until then. What a wimp.

Tuesday Already

After a busy outside Sunday I had a quieter inside Monday. There was laundry and kitchen cleanup duty and time for finishing this book. The plan is to head outside again today. It's another nice, mild day ahead.

I smoked a brisket on the gas grill this past weekend and used the remainder in a cream sauce for last evenings dinner. Somewhere under that low calorie (!) sauce is pappardelle, aka, egg noodles. You know, fewer of those so more of the other. Hey, it's healthy. There's tomatoes and zucchini. Mark once again told me he won the lottery. Odd he only says this after he has had dinner.

To finish this report, I believe I will spend the afternoon mowing before I delve into cleaning up the gardens. I'm not looking forward to painting the front porch, so of course I will put it off till the end and like so many other years, maybe not get to it. I can be consistent.

Sassy

Frieda and Sassy

I painted our dog, Sassy, in a school art class when I was 15. It was a gift to my grandma. I loved to draw and paint and was hopelessly untalented. I did it anyway. I took an art class in college and was sooooo out of my league. I dropped the class and the prof didn't argue with me. I did much, much better in his art history classes. I did continue drawing and painting on my own for years, simply because I enjoyed it, never fancying myself as a future Monet. Just a person doing something she liked doing. Frieda thinks it makes a nice backdrop for showcasing her beauty.

Drum roll........I got all of those honeysuckle bushes on the east end of the house, the bushes which for some reason shot up to the height of the eaves, all trimmed to reasonable height yesterday. They look scraggly, but the leaves will fall off soon anyway and the whole thing will start again next year. When you know in advance that you should not plant honeysuckle in front of windows, if you actually want to see out of those windows, be wise and don't do it anyway. A piece of advice given from experience.

This morning is laundry. I have a kitchen that looks as if a dish, pots and pans bomb went off in it. I wish I had my son's chef skill of cleaning as you go along. I am a hopelessly messy cook who often puts cleanup off. Which I did yesterday. Roasting tomatoes, making a brisket, whatever else I could do to make a mess, the mess was made. Unless there is someone else to clean it up, you always pay the piper eventually. An open kitchen is not my friend.

Monday and Friday are deli lunch days. Monday is a smash burger, which we split. They make a good burger. Mark likes to give me a break on meal making, so this is his idea and I certainly don't mind.

Eggplant and Other Important Issues

My flying monkey, Frieda. The little kitten who knocked on the kitchen door autumn 2019. The kitten who strolled in without a second thought and made herself a home. She looks chubby but in actuality that is a large skin flap. The girl is made for leaping, which she did plenty of until she decided she was a grown cat. Now the only purpose it serves is to sway side-to-side when she trots. It does that purpose well. Let's say Frieda and I have some commonalities. She is no nonsense, determined and can give the "look" perhaps even better than I can. Yes, I have learned torties are unusual.

It is a cooler, less humid morning. Tomorrow is, hopefully, the beginning of a Minnesota autumn. The best time to get outside projects done and to enjoy the out of doors. I look forward to getting a handle on some of the four years worth of my neglect. I'll need to join Lori's husband, Gary, in some porch painting. It's badly needed on the ceiling and floor. If I get a quarter of the projects needing doing it will be a job well done.

There was just now a small cat disagreement directed at Gatto by Jiggs with Frieda looking on. Gatto is a trouble maker. I did follow through with my plan to make sauce for eggplant parmesan. There is enough for another dinner. Tomatoes from my garden! I am now getting some ripe tomatoes. I planted really late. I will be having a lot of green tomatoes on the counters this year. That's ok.

Today is Philly Friday at the deli. We always buy one to split. Mark gets the chips and I have a salad. The sandwich is large and always good. There is the cat and food report for the day.

Good Afternoon

A rare afternoon post from me.

Today's lunch was clearing the refrigerator of leftovers. All have now been used.

Mark's Lunch

My Lunch

A small dish of vanilla ice cream followed. Tomorrow is supposedly our last day of high heat and humidity. It cannot come soon enough. On the isolation topic from yesterday.....I looked for senior (I can't believe I am writing this word) activities in my area. There is a senior center in a town 10-12 miles away that has lots of things going on. People from other towns are welcome. Now, I need to do what Val mentioned. Make the effort. There is the problem. I need to go over what is scheduled more closely, then determine if I can motivate myself to make the effort. I am my biggest problem, I've become too comfortable in my isolation. But still wanting interaction. Kind of a mess, yes?

I'm about to make a tomato sauce to be used for eggplant parmesan. I have two large eggplants so I will make enough sauce for a later eggplant involtini. It is always feast or famine with eggplant. It's a good thing we both like it.

Now you know the story of my day. woo-hoo!!

Another Day

Happy Wednesday. We are better than half way through another month. Friday is, hopefully, the last day of heat and humidity. Please let it be so. When it does cool down I plan to start helping in the barn. It's been four years, the first of those because I spent eight months going back and forth to St. Paul nearly every day after my mother died. It took much longer than I anticipated to get the house cleaned out, then I decided to make the place over, which took time. The market was hot so it sold right away when it was finished. It was a long time and  2.5 hours of drive time every day. I can help with cleaning stalls and watering. At least I hope so. It will be good exercise for me. What strange form of human looks forward to scooping manure?

Has anyone else noticed photos are darker when put on blogger? It seems to be a thing. This is a last hurrah of summer. Salmon cake with spicy mayo, sweet corn and a fresh tomato. A perfect combination and fitting for the weather. Our local deli has had very good sweet corn this year. They get eggs, produce and meat from local growers. Also honey. The eggs are large, free range with bright yolks. Worth the extra cost. They smoke the meat themselves. We are fortunate to have it so close.

I read a short article yesterday on the difference between a loner, or lone wolf, and an introvert. I have not felt I am an introvert. Being with people, being in groups of people, does not bother me. I am talkative and certainly not shy. I guess I am a lone wolf. Sounds so much more interesting than recluse! I have often said moving here was not good for me, in that I am too comfortable in my own company and therefore prone to hermitting. When this was a business people were always around, but it's been ten years since I officially shut it down and a couple of years more since things were busy, people-wise. When I read that loners (lone wolf) tend to be opinionated and not shy about sharing said opinions, as well as driven individuals, I felt I found my label. We do need our labels, don't we! Now you know.

So, enough blathering for today. 

Frolicing Horsie Photo Memories

1997

WF Impressive. WF Airs Above Ground. WF Maximum Velocity.

The boys at play.

I can't tell who this is, although I'm certain it's a gelding. This is what happens when so many of the horses are bay with no markings. It's probably Scamper.

We've been having hot, humid weather. It's cutting into the precious autumn weather when I can get outside work done. Over time I have become very heat intolerant. Let's not even go into the humidity. Hopefully we will have mild weather into October.

Mark has a busy schedule the rest of this month. Lunch with his cousins at a bar/restaurant convenient for all the guys. A medical appointment. A sibling reunion at the lake home of a niece at the end of the month. And in the middle, a class reunion. They have decided to have one every year, as quite a few of his small class of thirty have died in the past few years. What a difference from my school. I went to a very large high school, he went to school with the same kids from kindergarten through graduation. I have never attended a reunion. I suppose in a small school you form closer bonds than when you're just one in a crowd of many.

Today, being Monday, is laundry, lunch from the deli and who knows what after. Ah, Monday.

Yup

 Happy Saturday

* I just now remembered where I got this. Thanks, Pixie!

Grumpy Gus

I was off yesterday. The whole of it, from getting out of bed until getting back into bed. I tried to read blogs and just could not concentrate. I know what was making me this way. I had watched the debate and was impressed by Harris. That wasn't the problem. My malaise, if that's what it was, came from watching and listening to the other one. I haven't seen much of him since shortly after he left office. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but I was taken aback. He actually could and did get worse. That isn't what put me in a fog. What did was thinking throughout that "debate" that about 40% of the US population thinks this guy is the second coming. That takes the air out of a room.

Ok, 'nuff of that. Trying to explain my absence when I really should just leave it alone. 

We are having warm weather again, leaving wimp me out of yard work. I made an egg bake for dinner, forgot to add the bacon before cooking, so on top it went. Looks sort of like pizza. I'm having trouble with books, meaning finding something to hold my attention. I had a hold on It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. It became available yesterday and I'm going to return it. I don't like the romantic novels and that is where it's going. I'm not going along. It may be a good read, but the overload of sex in so many of these novels gets on my nerves. It's not offensive to me, it's boring. I also have Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. I am not in the mindset for it right now. Way too depressing. I just finished The Story of Edward Sawtelle, this one bothered me. The prose was lovely, but I guess I was not needing something so dark.

I do believe this is enough. I am seeming like that thunder cloud moving in on a summer picnic.

Kitty Ditty.

 Were I a cat, I would not chase a rat. I may call a mouse a louse, but I'd leave it in the house. I'd find myself a chair, I would not share. I'd lay my body down and never have a care.

A Good Day

This is something I don't get to say often......I had a productive day on Sunday. It's uplifting, energizing to accomplish even simple tasks when that has been difficult for so long. I know I am speaking (writing) this to many who know this well.

I made roasted eggplant soup for lunch.

Tomato sauce for dinner.

I made dinner.

And......I made pesto with two different types of basil, which went into the freezer.

On top of this, I picked tomatoes and got one more honeysuckle bush trimmed. Can we have a hallelujah! A feeling of accomplishment can carry over, as I have experienced already today. I got up earlier, put water on for my coffee, made the coffee and put the first load of laundry in the machine, which is happily whirring as I type. An aside. Putting the laundry room on the first floor of the house all those many years ago was one of the very best things we have done. Hands down.  Today I need to clean the mess in the kitchen, I am not a tidy cook, and do the laundry. If I have the energy I'll trim one more bush. It's going to be moderately hot today, so that may not happen.

Mark wasn't twiddling his thumbs. He trimmed dead branches in the ancient apple tree. It is very old, not a hybrid, and gorgeous in the spring. He was busy all day but that is the only thing I know he did. Bill said he is bringing more tomatoes and green beans sometime today. I've already put a gallon freezing bag of whole tomatoes in the freezer. Winter prep is starting.

Sunday Morning

After subjecting any and all to the image of my foot yesterday, my meager attempt at making amends. Kitties in repose.

Tri-pod kitty, Jigglet.

Monster kitty, Frieda.

 Frieda does have two eyes. Really.

About Shoes

Something I had't given thought to until recently.....the feet as they relate to the back. My back has been better, mostly because of pain medication, but I still have a lot of pain and I am limited in what I can do. Much more liberated than I was even six months ago, but not all that great. I have seen ads for barefoot shoes for at least a year, gave them a flicker of thought which was swiftly forgotten. I saw an ad a couple of weeks ago that had a BOGO sale, so I looked and then bought. Two pair for $70 seemed like a small risk. I have to say, they are helping me. The shoe is very comfortable. I have trouble with shoes as I have a high arch/instep. This shoe doesn't hurt my instep and I'm able to walk with a less forward leaning back for longer than I have been able to do. I grew up with the rule shoes are off in the house and it has stuck for me. It feels wrong to have a shoe on my foot in the house. These don't do that. They are light and pliable. I got a pair in white as the freebie. They also come in an ankle boot which I will buy for winter use.

This perspective makes it look like I have a huge foot! Sort of like a platypus.

We have another nice day ahead of us. I hope to get most, if not all, the hedge trimming done today. There is so much to do I cannot procrastinate. Too many years without my help around this place is showing.

Baking and Books

It's a clear, brisk morning in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. My kind of weather. I did get panini made. Not the best formed but they will do. I got one honeysuckle trimmed and quit. I have been barred from using the hedge trimmer for unfair reasons. Just because I cut not one, but two extension cords a couple of years ago should mean a life sentence? Injustice. I told the Lord and Master I am overturning his verdict and will be using the trimmer instead of loppers. He was all aflutter. No No. You cannot do this. I will. Case dismissed.

Yesterday Boud wrote about watching another rendition of Persuasion. I commented that I thought I had the book and had read it but didn't remember. I do have it and it looks like I'd started reading it as I had it bookmarked at chapter seven. In my teens I bought many unabridged collections of classics, so I'm sure that's when I bought this one. Interesting that I actually had been in the process, at some time, of reading the very story we talked about. Now I must read it, it seems fated.

Gobble Gobble Gobble

Wild Turkeys

This is the second hatching that I am aware of. The turklings grow fast so it could be the third. There's always at least two adults, sometimes more. They are like herd animals. They stay in a group, looking after at least twenty youngsters. They must be living in the trees surrounding us, as they are here throughout the day. We really enjoy watching them. These photos were taken through the window. The cats enjoy lounging in the screened porch watching them. I do hope Mark gets to that fence yet this year. This is the third year it was supposed to be gone. Like the fallen trees, not yet.

We've had wonderful weather for several days. Today will be warmer but not awful. The blessing is the drop in humidity. Not the drops of humidity. I finally finished mowing yesterday. Odd how what I got done in an afternoon now takes two-three days. I think it's more about patience than anything. I'm sitting the whole time but I find I am tired of it. Not tired from it. So, I stop. It does get done and that is the main thing. Or so I tell myself.

Since it will be warmer today I'm going to attempt inside productivity. Don't laugh, I am. I know I will mix dough to ferment overnight for panini buns. That is simple enough. Yesterday I roasted eggplant slices and chunks, one for eggplant involtini and the other for eggplant alla norma. We are coming into my favorite food season. 

That's the news from the western edge of the Twin Cities.

Sweet Repose

These two hard laborers want to see all hard laborers take a rest today.

Yesterday was an outside day. I had a yard that seriously needed mowing and Mark and Bill got one of the fallen trees from the storm cut up. We finally have weather a person can be outside in. My favorite season.

I'm certain there will be more labor today. Mark outside, me inside. The cats will put in an extreme effort to rest.